BATS; More Than One Way to Say Goodbye

By MARK VIERA

Published: July 17, 2010

As the Yankees returned to work after the All-Star break, players, opponents, fans and team employees shared their memories of George Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard, who died earlier this week, at Yankee Stadium.

10:29 p.m. | Updated Wearing Their Heart on Their Sleeve or ChestThe Yankees honored the lives of George Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard by wearing patches on their uniforms. But fans who wanted to wear their support had to look outside Yankee Stadium.

The Yankee Stadium team store did not sell memorabilia related to Steinbrenner and Sheppard, according to sales associates.

Across River Avenue, though, there were plenty of T-shirt vendors hawking Steinbrenner attire. Many of them were selling blue T-shirts that said ''The Boss'' across the chest, with Steinbrenner's name underneath it, and an assortment of photographs of him.

One salesman, Ben Bennett, 61, of the Bronx, said Friday was his first day selling the Steinbrenner T-shirt.

''Right now, it's selling a little slow because it's the first day,'' Bennett said. ''By Sunday, I think it'll go through the roof. Look at the shirt. It sells itself.''

Another salesman, Ronald Davidson, was clear about why he chose to sell the T-shirt.

''Like any other entrepreneur, money would be the main impetus,'' said Davidson, 64, of the Bronx. ''You're in business to sell.''

So far, Davidson said, the Steinbrenner T-shirts were selling about the same as his other Yankees merchandise. He also hoped that sales of the T-shirts would pick up as the weekend progressed.

As for his thoughts on Steinbrenner, Davidson said he was not a passionate Yankee fan, but he respected Steinbrenner.

''Steinbrenner was good for the institution of baseball,'' he said. ''You can't deny his effect on baseball - forget just the Yankee franchise, the entire league.''

Davidson added, ''The bottom line is he made the game interesting.''

The Memorial GrowsOutside of Gate 4 of Yankee Stadium, only a handful of fans left mementos Tuesday after learning the news of George Steinbrenner's death, but the public tribute grew on Friday as the crowd swelled.

By 9 p.m., there were five Yankees caps (and one Yankees visor) as well as dozens of flowers and candles. There were a number of yellowing newspapers that bore Steinbrenner's image. And some people wrote notes to Steinbrenner - long or short, personal or simple.

There was a Yankee jersey that had ''R.I.P. the Boss'' spray painted on it.

And one man left a blue sport jacket and a pair of slacks. In the left breast pocket of the jacket, there was a note that read, ''Long live the spirit of the Boss.''

There was a longer note on a piece of cardboard near the base of the interlocking NY outside of Gate 4. At the end of the note, it read, ''Next stop: Cooperstown.''Respectful Bleacher CreaturesThe public address system was quiet Friday to honor Bob Sheppard. And it was not the only Yankee Stadium staple conspicuous by its silence.

To recognize the deaths of Sheppard and George Steinbrenner, the bleacher creatures did not do their first-inning roll call of the Yankees' lineup. It was just the second time since the tradition started in 1996 that the roll was not called.

''It just didn't feel right to get up on the bleacher and make all that noise,'' said Vinny Milano, known as Bald Vinny and one of the leaders of the bleacher creatures. ''There's no way you can have a ceremony like that and hop and up get excited.''

Milano was referring to the pregame ceremony that included Mariano Rivera laying down roses at home plate, a moment of silence and an address from Derek Jeter.

In keeping with the mood of the day, the bleacher creatures voted to not do their roll call. They made a sign to encourage others in the stands to remain silent.

In 1996, the group of fans sitting in the bleachers of Section 39 at old Yankee Stadium - the so-called creatures - started chanting the name of each pinstriped player in the first inning. The player was then to acknowledge the chant with a nod, a tip of the cap or a wave of his glove.

''This team means a lot to a lot of people,'' Milano said. ''And to us out here, we feel a part of it with the roll call.''

Milano said the roll call went silent once in 1999 as a protest of the Yankees' postseason ticket policy that year.

The group resides in Section 203 of the new ballpark, and its traditions continue. For one night, though, its support of the team was delivered with silence.Drawn to Monument ParkThey came from Ohio and Florida, from the New Jersey suburbs and from New York City, and walked shoulder to shoulder as they shoehorned into Monument Park to pay their respects.

Before the Yankees played the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, fans at Yankee Stadium were able to view the plaque of the longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard.

''I always loved Bob Sheppard,'' said Bill Bourque, 50, of Cheshire, Conn. ''I can remember being 8-, 9-years-old, I loved to come to games and hear him at games.''

Bourque walked around with his 13-year-old daughter, Lauren, and they snapped pictures of the plaques in Monument Park, which is behind the wall in center field.

The Bourques' father-daughter trip was planned long before the deaths of Sheppard and Steinbrenner.

''It's kind of a profound thing to come to the first game since they passed,'' Bourque said.

Sheppard's plaque was dedicated on May 7, 2000, and it memorializes him as ''The Voice of Yankee Stadium.''

In the Executive Lobby at Gate 2, wreaths surrounded the statue of Steinbrenner.

David Harrison, 67, of Alexandria, Va., was visiting Yankee Stadium as part of a birthday present and did not anticipate the circumstances.

''To be here tonight,'' Harrison said, pausing as he became choked up, ''when the Boss is going to be honored for all he's done for the Yankees and New York, it's really a special moment.''

Jonathan Trencheny, 14, of Rockville Centre, N.Y., attended with his uncle and his cousin. He said it was a touching evening.